Rake crane



April 20, 1965 A. A. TALLQUlsT Y 3,179,264

BAKE CRANE Filed May 27, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Arroz-mm .5

April 20, 1965 A. A. TALLQUxsT 3,179,264

` BAKE CRANE Filed May 27, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 -April 20, 1965 A, A, TALLQUlsT 3,179,264

RAKE CRANE Filed May 27, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 T:f: Fig. 6

52 IN VENTOR. MEL A. TALL maar ATTORNEY April 20, 1965 TALLQUlsT CRANE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 27, 1963 INVENTOR. AXEZ A. TALLQZI' T United States Patent O Fce 3,179,264 RAKE CRANE Axel A. Tallquist, Seattle, Wash., assignor to Ederer Corporation, Seattle, Wash., a corporation of Washington Filed May 27, 1963, Ser. No. 283,481 3 Claims. (Ci. 214-17) This invention relates to a rake crane, and more particularly to a hydraulically actuated rake carried by an overhead crane assembly for, moving hog fuel to a conveyor which carries the fuel to a boiler room. The present application is a continuation-in-part of application filed Feb. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 86,638, now abandoned.

Hog fuel consists of small chunks or scraps of wood which are intermingled with sawdust. The mixture is piled in bulk in a large bin of a storage building and is fed therefrom onto a delivery conveyor belt to be burned as fuel for boilers. There is a constant snow of the fuel falling into the storage bin from anoverhead supply conveyor, and the level within such bin constantly changes as the supplied hog fuel is greater or less than the delivered quantity. A feed throat to a delivery conveyor belt is located centrally in the floor of the bin, and for moving the hog `fuel from the bin thereto, it has been the practice heretofore for a team of two men (each protecting the other against cave-ins) to work directly in the pile, keeping the latter from matting so as to get a continual gravity flow from all sides toward the delivery conveyor belt. It is the object of the present invention to provide an `efficient and mechanically operated rake structure for performing said work previously performed by hand.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide an overhead crane from which a rake is suspended, `with the parts so constructed and arranged that the rake can reach to substantially all parts of the storage bin.

This invention further aims to provide a rake crane so constructed that the crane apparatus and an operator therefor are both protected from the hog fuel dropping into the bin.

e It is a further specific object4 to provide a rake crane having unusually flexible maneuverability so that the rake can approach the fuel piles from the most desirable angle.

Again a further specific object is to supply power to the rake crane in such amanner that the operators view of the bin is not obscured.

These and still additional objects and advantages will appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of `parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view looking into the interior of a hog fuel bin and illustrating, in end elevation, a rake crane `housed therein and constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

' w FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational View drawn to an enlarged scale to detail the construction of the cranes rake assembly.

Q 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view detailing the upper portion of the support column and parts associated therewith, and drawn to an enlarged scale on line 6-6 `of FIG. 7.

arrasar e Patented Apr. 2i), 1955 FIG. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale on line 7-7 of FIG. l.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the hydraulic system of the rake crane; and y FIG. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating a second embodiment of my invention in which a TV camera is directed toward the operating area of the rake crane.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of the present invention it is believed that clarity in an understanding thereof may be advanced by here cursorily considering the work to be accomplished and generally outlining the structure which I provide for performing such work.

A practical method of moving large quantities of hog fuel is to rake the fuel, with thehead of the rake able to reach upwardly to the top of piles so that the piles can be broken down, and downwardly so as to draw fuel toward the center of the bin floor. Depending upon the location and build-up of the piles, the rake should be able to maneuver so as to approach a pile from different directions. p i

In performing the above raking work, the present invention provides a trolley supported by. an overhead travelling crane. Carried by the trolley is a rotating support column which provides at its lower end an over.- sized rake which admits of being extended or retracted and of being raised or lowered. The rotating column supports a hydrauiic pump and an electric motor which drives the pump. The rake, the pump and the electric motor all rotate with the support column. A cab is supported from the rotating column and roates therewith so that an operator in the cab can always see the rake immediately before him. As a modified departure therefrom, the cab may be eliminated and a television camera substituted therefor, such camera being placed so as to scan the operating end of the rake and being included in a closed television circuit the receiver for which is located in a position remote to the rake and serves to guide an operator in his actuation of remote controls governing the movements of the crane and its rake. i

Referring to said drawings, the hog `fuel mixture is designated by the numeral Ztl and the storage bin is generally designated by the numeral 21. In a trench formed in the floor 22 of the bin is a delivery conveyor belt 23 for carrying the fuel from the bin to a boiler room. The bin is walled along the sides and ends and has a roof 24. The crane structure derives its support from brackets 25 lying in close proximity to the roof.

As a travelling overhead crane the invention provides the usual trucks 36 riding on longitudinally extending tracks 3'7, and has a pair of paralleling spaced girders 38 extending transversely between these trucks. The space between said girders is unobstructed except for a trolley 40 which the girders support.

Lower anges il provided by the girders serve as rails on which the wheels i2 of the trolley ride. The trolley presents a rigid frame 39. Suspended from this frame is a cylindrical support column 43. This suspension includes a thrust-and-journal bearing 44 welded to the trolley frame and made functional to a crowned circular member 45 bolted to the column as a surmounting head therefor. A bull gear 46 is fixed to said head in surrounding concentric relation thereto.

yMeshing with the bull gear is a rack 47 journah mounted from the trolley frame for reciprocal slide motion in a horizontal plane. The rack is moved by a double-acting hydraulic jack comprised of a piston working in a hydraulic cylinder 48, the piston connecting by a rod 50 with an elbowed arm 51 extending laterally from the rack as a rigid Outrigger component thereof.

In addition to the rotary journal provided by the bearktain a taut condition.

ing 44, the column 43 receives journal support from a sleeve 52 surrounding its upper portion. The sleeve has its upper end welded to the trolley frame and has its lowerend braced by four diagonally extending struts 53.

The rake assembly comprises an inner arm 54 pivoted to the ycolumn at the lower end of the latter, an outer arm 55 pivoted to the inner arm for jack-knifing motion relative thereto, and a rake slidably mounted on the outer arm for telescoping motion with respect to such outer arm. Respective double-acting hydraulic jacks are provided for (l) swinging the rake assembly vertically about a transverse horizontal pivot pin 60 which hinges the inner arm to the column, (2) jack-kniiing the outer-arm 55 relative to the inner arm 54 about a transverse horizontal pivot pin 61 which hinges the two arms together, and (3) telescoping the rake 56 relative to the outer arm. The inner arm 54 comprises two paralleling spaced bars 62 which engage the pin 6) at opposite sides of the column. The outer arm S is welded by its inner end to a butt member 63 which is received in the space between the bars 62, and is fabricated to a box-section configuration from a channel member '58 and a plate S9 bolted thereto. The jack for swinging the rake assembly is denoted by 65 and extends between a bracket 66 fixed to the column at a point spaced a substantial distance above the pivot pin 60 and a bracket 67 fixed to the inner arm of the rake assembly intermediate its ends. The jack which jack-knifes the Vouter arm relative to the inner arm is designated by 68 and extends from said bracket 67 to the free end of an arm 70 which angles upwardly from the root end of the outer arm and with said outer arm produces a substantial bell-crank.

As a slide journal for the telescoping motion of the rake the outer arm of the rake assembly has two integral elongated sleeves 71 extending along the opposite sides in positions paralleling the longitudinal median line of the arm. The rake proper presents two cylindrical guide rods 72 received for sliding motion in the sleeves, hasa horizontal cross-bar 73 fixedly attached to said guide rods, and presents sets of rather widely separated teeth 74 extending upwardly and downwardly from the crossbar. The telescoping jack comprises a piston 75 attached to the cross-bar and working in a cylinder 76 carried by the outer arm on substantially the longitudinal median line thereof. The motions to which the rake is subject, by the controlled operation of the several jacks, will be apparent from an inspection of FIG. 1.

The column carries an electric motor 80 and a hydraulic pump 81 driven thereby. Fluid from the pump is carried by flexible hoses to the ends of the cylinders for the several hydraulic jacks. A suitable hydraulic system is provided, with its accompanying controls operated from lwithin an operators cab 82, and is shown diagrammaticall ly in FIG. 8. y

The cab is made rigid with the column so as to rotate therewith, and faces toward the rake head 30 so as to afford the operator a clear view of the operation of the rake, which view is or may be facilitated by focussed lamps. The controls to move the trolley and the crane, as well as to operate said jacks, are located in the cab. Limit switches (not shown) are provided to determine the travel limits of both the trolley and the crane.

To move the trolley 4t) along the rails 4l., a rotary drum 83 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) is mounted on the trolley vframe, with its axis of rotation normal to the travel path of the trolley. A reversing electric motor E4 also mounted on the trolley frame drives said drum through a Ieduction gear box 85. A cable 86 is wound several turns about the circumference of the drum and has its two ends anchored to opposite ends of the crane frame with a spring (not shown) applied at one end of such cable to main- As the drum turns the trolley responsively walks along the length of the cable.

Travel of the crane is accomplished by means of two gear racks 87 extending the length of the tracks 37, said gear racks being meshed by two pinions 88 which are` carried upon the ends of a common axle 90 which is journal-mounted from the frame of the crane. A reversing electric motor 91 works through worm-and-pinion gearing to spin the axle for moving the crane along the tracks 37.

To supply electric power to the crane, a spring-loaded drum 92 is rotatably carried by the crane with its axis of rotation normal to the travel path of the crane. the crane travels toward and from a stationary outlet from a source of electric power an electric cable winds and unwinds itself upon the drum. A feed cable 93 connected electrically to the first named electric cable leads axially from an end of the drum, being arranged so as not to rotate therewith, and supplies power to the electric motors 89, 84 and 91. This secondrcable 93 is hung in a series of loops from a plurality of hangers 94 (see FIG. l) which ride along a rail 95 running the length of the crane above the trolley. Thus as the trolley moves along the length of its rails, the loops of the cable 93 are keptV in an out-of-the-way position above the trolley.

The referred-to second embodiment of my invention is illustrated in FIG. 9. The structure and operation of the crane, the trolley, the support column, and the rake frame is the same as in the lirst embodiment. In lieu of the cab, and supplying a view of the operation of the rake, a TV camera is hinged, as at 101, to the column 43 so as to occupy a position to one side of the column spaced above the rake assembly. A rearwardly projecting free end of the camera is pivotally attached by a link 102 to an arm 103 iixed to and extending as a heel prolongation from the inner arm 54. The link 102 and arm 103 together with the column 43 and the camera 100 establish a figure of substantial parallelograrn shape. The camera moves in concert with the rake, both in the rotary and vertical swinging motion of the latter, and is focused so as to have a fairly broad scope which includes, at all times, the working end of the rake. The picture scanned by the camera is passed by a closed television circuit to a complementary receiving set (not shown) occupying a position remote to the camera. Remote controls for the operation of the crane are actuated by an operator viewing the scanned picture reproduced on the receiving set.

It is thought that the invention will have 'been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of my now-preferred illustrated embodiments. Changes in the details of construction will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is my intention that no limitations be implied and that Vthe hereto annexed claims be given the broadest interpretation to which the employed language fairly admits.

What I claim is:

1. In a storage building having a bin containing hog fuel, a frame-work within said building located in overhead relation to the stored fuel, a column suspended from said frame-work and receiving a journal therefrom for rotation of the column about a vertical axis, poweroperated means for rotating said column, a rake support member hinged from the lower end of the column for vertical swing motion about a horizontal axis, said rake support member being jointed to provide inner and outer arms articulating for jack-knife motion about a horizontal axis, the inner arm comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars having the inner end straddling the column and traversed by a horizontal pin to provide said hinge, the outer arm having its inner end received in the space between said arms at the outer end of the latter and traversed by a horizontal pin to provide said articulation, a rake slidably carried by the rake support member for extension and retraction movements, said rake having a raking head and at least two paralleling guide members rigid with and extending rearwardly from the head, said outer arm of the rake support member providing a respective journal-forming sleeve at each ofthe two sides thereof one sleeve to receive one of said guidemembers and the other sleeve to receive the other of said guide members for endwise slide motion, andrespective hydraulic jacks, one for moving the rake support member in its said swing motion, one for moving the rake in its said extension and retraction motion, and one for moving the two arms of the rake support member in said jack-kning motion, the first said jack being connected at one end to the column at a point spaced vertically from said hinge axis and connected at the other end to the inner arm of the rake support member at the approximate mid-length thereof, the second said jack being secured at one of its ends to the rake support member and at the other end to the rake, the third said jack being connected at one end to a crank arm rising from the outer arm of the rake support member adjacent its point of articulation with the support members inner arm and connected at the other end to said inner arm at the approximate mid-length thereof.

2. Structure as recited in claim 1 having a television camera focused on the interior of said bin to view the area in which the rake works and enabling control ofv said Working from a point remote to the bin, said camera being carried upon a platform having its front end attached to the column for vertical swing motionY about a horizontal axis elevated above and paralleling the hinge axis of the rake support member and having its rear` end pivoted to the upper end of a vertical link which is 3. Structure according to claim 1 in which the rake comprises a cross-bar with raking teeth extending both upwardly and downwardly therefrom.

. References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 530,210 12/94 TheW 215--141 678,188 7/01 Macbeth 212-31 1,584,442 5/26 ,Every L 214--15 2,177,941. 10/39 Knudson et al. .i 212--27 2,784,855 3/57 Acker 214-141 X 2,785,813 3/57 Toiemire 214-141 2,861,699 11/58 Youmans. l

HUGO o. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A STORAGE BUILDING HAVING A BIN CONTAINING HOG FUEL, A FRAME-WORK WITHIN SAID BUILDING LOCATED IN OVERHEAD RELATION TO THE STORED FUEL, A COLUMN SUSPENDED FROM SAID FRAMEWORK AND RECEIVING A JOURNAL THEREFROM FOR ROTATION OF THE COLUMN ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, POWEROPERATED MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID COLUMN, A RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER HINGED FROM THE LOWER END OF THE COLUMN FOR VERTICAL SWING MOTION ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, SAID RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER BEING JOINTED TO PROVIDE INNER AND OUTER ARMS ARTICULATING FOR JACK-KNIFE MOTION ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, THE INNER ARM COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED PARALLEL BARS HAVING THE INNER END STRADDLING THE COLUMN AND TRAVERSED BY A HORIZONTAL PIN TO PROVIDE SAID HINGE, THE OUTER ARM HAVING ITS INNER END RECEIVED IN THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID ARMS AT THE OUTER END OF THE LATTER AND TRAVERSED BY A HORIZONTAL PIN TO PROVIDE SAID ARTICULATION, A RAKE SLIDABLY CARRIED BY THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER FOR EXTENSION AND RETRACTION MOVEMENTS, SAID RAKE HAVING A RAKING HEAD AND AT LEAST TWO PARALLELING GUIDE MEMBERS RIGID WITH AND EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM THE HEAD, SAID OUTER ARM OF THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER PROVIDING A RESPECTIVE JOURNAL-FORMING SLEEVE AT EACH OF THE TWO SIDES THEREOF ONE SLEEVE TO RECEIVE ONE OF SAID GUIDE MEMBERS AND THE OTHER SLEEVE TO RECEIVE THE OTHER OF SAID GUIDE MEMBERS FOR ENDWISE SLIDE MOTION, AND RESPECTIVE HYDRAULIC JACKS, ONE FOR MOVING THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER IN ITS SAID SWING MOTION, ONE FOR MOVING THE RAKE IN ITS SAID EXTENSION AND RETRACTION MOTION, AND ONE FOR MOVING THE TWO ARMS OF THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER IN SAID JACK-KNIFING MOTION, THE FIRST SAID JACK BEING CONNECTED AT ONE END TO THE COLUMN AT A POINT SPACED VERTICALLY FROM SAID HINGE AXIS AND CONNECTED AT THE OTHER END TO THE INNER ARM OF THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER AT THE APPROXIMATE MID-LENGTH THEREOF, THE SECOND SAID JACK BEING SECURED AT ONE OF ITS ENDS TO THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER AND AT THE OTHER END TO THE RAKE, THE THIRD SAID JACK BEING CONNECTED AT ONE END TO A CRANK ARM RISING FROM THE OUTER ARM OF THE RAKE SUPPORT MEMBER ADJACENT ITS POINT OF ARTICULATION WITH SUPPORT MEMBER''S INNER ARM AND CONNECTED AT THE OTHER END TO SAID INNER ARM AT THE APPROXIMATE MID-LENGTH THEREOF. 